Recruitment agency in capital comeback

RECRUITMENT agency 
Maxwell Bruce is poised to return to Edinburgh as it seeks to benefit from the 
tentative economic recovery.

The Dunfermline-based firm, which also has an office in Glasgow, expanded into Dundee last year.

Maxwell Bruce pulled out of Edinburgh three years ago when the downturn hit, but managing director Roddy Donaldson said it “needs to come back” to the capital and he expects the expansion to add about half a dozen people to its headcount, which has almost doubled to 27 over the past three years.

With figures last week showing the UK achieved growth of 0.3 per cent in the first three months of the year, Donaldson said: “We’ve definitely seen an upturn in the economy.”

He added: “Consumer confidence is coming back a bit, which means they’re shopping more, and that activity flows right down the line from food to recycling.”

Donaldson said the firm specialises in outsourcing and managing the workforces of its clients, “which could be in any sector from food to construction”.

He added: “We hope to replicate what we did in Dundee, where we now have five people, because we need a solid base to start from.”

Turnover has grown from £6.5 million to £10.8m over the past three years, and Donaldson said much of its success is due to the support of invoice finance specialist Bibby Financial Services.

He said: “As a recruitment company, cash flow is vital to us, particularly as we manage workforce numbers of more than 1,500 people.”